A CNN presenter was in the middle of interviewing a guest live on air when an earthquake in Turkey shook the studio so hard that she asked for her mother.
Three earthquakes,as strong as 6.2 magnitudes,hit in quick succession before 1pm local time today.
Its epicentre was 40km south of Istanbul,around 10km beneath the Sea of Maramara,but it was close enough to send shockwaves through Turkey’s biggest city.
Emre Güngör,36,was about to sit down outside a café with his wife and three-year-old son when the first tremors hit.
He told Metro: ‘We heard loud cracking sounds and the shaking was very intense. Everybody started panicking and left their tables. We threw ourselves outside.’
Travel advice for anyone from the UK is being constantly updated by the Home Office,however,it told Metro there are no current warnings in place.
The earthquake had a shallow depth of 10km (Picture: Metro)
Pelin Bengu,general manager at Intrepid Travel,Istanbul,told Metro of the ‘terrifying’ moment the earth began to move and people looked for cover.
He said: ‘It was terrifying — we felt the shake,which lasted around 13 seconds. You feel quite helpless when the ground is moving like that.
‘Thankfully,there’s no visible damage in Istanbul,that I have seen anyway. It happened around noon on a public holiday,so most people were home with their families,which may have prevented more chaos.
‘Many went outside to parks and open areas for safety. There was a strong aftershock a couple of hours later,but things have since calmed. We have been reassured that while aftershocks may continue,they likely won’t be as strong.’
Live TV captured the moment CNN Türk anchor Meltem Bozbeyoglu realised what was happening.
After calmly trying to pause the interview while the studio started shaking,the growing tremors caused panic to set in. Her eyes widened.
The anchor then asked a producer: ‘Can you reach my mother?’
Parks were full of people waiting for news after fleeing nearby buildings (Picture: Murat Sengul/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Within 15 seconds,the most powerful tremor was over. At least 151 people were injured,but there were no reports of major damage.
‘There are no reports of any loss of life or destruction as of now’,said the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).
It was a lucky escape for a city famous for straddling Europe and Asia because it sits on two sides of a sea created by the earth beneath pulling apart. It’s one of Turkey’s two major fault lines.
The other is where 59,000 people died when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria in February 2023.
‘Our memories are very fresh’,Emre said.
‘I have some close friends there and they lost their friends and relatives. Many people have been left homeless,and many people are still living in tents and containers even today.
‘The effort to build new houses for those people have not been enough. The government let people down.’
Istanbul’s ‘big one’ is only a matter of time,scientists have warned for at least the last 25 years.
The first thing people did once in safety was call to check on their loved ones (Picture: Murat Sengul/Anadolu via Getty Images)
More than 17,000 people died in a magnitude hit Izmit,34km southeast of Istanbul,in 1999. A weaker earthquake in 2019 killed one and injured dozens.
‘Turkish people in general are used to big earthquakes’,Emre said. ‘But we tend to completely forget about it after a while and go on with our lives until it happens again.’
The government’s slow response to the 1999 earthquake contributed to the rise of former Mayor of Istanbul Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party to power in 2002.
He is still President of Turkey today,but some question whether his government has done enough to prepare for the next big earthquake in Istanbul.
Emre said: ‘Many people feel that it’s inevitable,but not enough has been done to reinforce the buildings since the last major earthquake.
‘I think we still haven’t learnt our lesson. So if a major earthquake was to hit today or tomorrow or in the near future,I think many people will die.
‘People are very anxious,especially the poor people who have no choice but to live in old buildings that haven’t been strengthened or rebuilt.
‘The ones who have the means to do so have already left.’
Outside away from the potential of falling buildings is often the safest place to be in an earthquake (Picture: Hakan Akgun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Predicted death tolls would make the anticipated ‘big one’ among the most deadly in human history.
‘Millions of Istanbulites are living in 600,000 homes that could collapse at any moment.’,Environment Minister Murat Kurum said earlier this year.
‘That’s why I say we must accelerate the urban transformation projects we’ve started in İstanbul.’
Responding to today’s earthquake,Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said: ‘I offer my best wishes to our citizens affected by the earthquake.
‘May God protect our country and our nation from disasters.’
Football team Fenerbahçe SK released a statement on X: ‘We hope that there will be no loss of life or property following the earthquake that occurred in the Marmara Sea and was felt in Istanbul and the surrounding provinces; we convey our get well wishes to all our citizens.’
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